I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 685: Various Dividends Transported from Different Places

It was foreseeable that although Jing Shu didn’t know what was inside, this batch of goods was definitely of great value, perhaps even more valuable than the profits from this transaction. Wasn’t that obvious? If they wanted to continue a pleasant cooperation with Jing Shu, they had to procure some quality items this time.

Jing Shu had even started thinking that to save on shipping costs, the goods everyone brought would likely be rather lightweight. If they were too heavy, transportation would be a significant issue.

For instance, cheap foodstuffs like green grass would be impossible to transport. After all, these were practical materials worth millions of Virtual Coins.

Could it possibly be very precious live Domestic Poultry? Jing Shu hoped they would bring some breeds she didn’t have. Although she had chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep, they were all common varieties.

In this apocalypse where everything was nearly extinct, no one was picky about the variety of live poultry. For example, ordinary domestic chickens, free-range chickens, Three-Yellow chickens, Lu Hua chickens, and those nourishing black-boned chickens—truly delectable.

However, it was clear Jing Shu was overthinking. Common breeds were already almost extinct, let alone rare ones.

Half a month later, the first dividend shipment finally arrived at the Wucheng Town Government, transported via official roads from all directions. Jing Shu then dispatched Liu from Jingshu’s house to the Township Government to collect the materials.

Jing Shu sent a truck to pick up the goods. While Liu was handling the delivery and reconciling the accounts, Jing Shu went to check on Gold Dominator’s pregnant Jinhua Sow.

Gold Dominator nervously stroked the sow, which had fattened up significantly. He said worriedly, "Its belly is getting bigger and bigger. I have no idea how many piglets are inside. I’m afraid it might burst."

The black pigs at Jingshu’s house had drunk diluted Spiritual Spring water and gave birth to over a dozen piglets each time, yet they didn’t look this frightening. Wasn’t it because she had secretly fed this sow some diluted Spiritual Spring water, hoping for more piglets?

"Perhaps the sow itself is too thin, and with so many piglets inside, its belly looks frightening. I think the piglets will be born soon. You should take it to the breeding farm; they have more experience there."

Actually, Jing Shu had even more experience. She crouched down and felt the sow’s belly. Through certain details, she knew it was about to give birth. Why not just help it out? Once the piglets are born, I can take them home. Wouldn’t that save so much trouble?

So, Jing Shu began to massage the sow.

"Don’t touch it recklessly! What if you harm it?" Gold Dominator was counting on the sow to give birth to many piglets and breed more so he could eat pork soon.

As he spoke, the sow began to grunt, and then a stream of fluid flowed out.

"It peed! You touched it and made it pee!" Gold Dominator shouted excitedly.

Jing Shu: "..." Scram!

"Oh, what a coincidence. It’s giving birth."

Sows usually don’t give birth so quickly. Normally, it takes the better part of a day, or even one or two days, with much grunting and whining before labor begins. However, Jing Shu used her methods, and since this wasn’t the sow’s first litter, it quickly began to deliver piglets as if popping out beans.

Gold Dominator had never witnessed such a spectacle. He felt nauseous and was on the verge of throwing up, yet at the same time, he was extremely excited. Before long, the sow had given birth to 8 piglets.

Jing Shu took 3 of them. Originally, the agreement wasn’t for so many, but later, due to various reasons and conditions, Gold Dominator had promised to give her 3 piglets if the sow had a large litter.

Jing Shu left contentedly. Her ambition was to produce a batch of Jinhua Hams before the migration.

After the Magic Cube upgrade, there was still plenty of space left. She wouldn’t feel at ease until the entire space was filled with food and supplies.

「Meanwhile.」

"Well? Did you get anything good?" Jing Shu asked Liu, who was handling the handover.

Liu listed the items one by one. A batch of surplus cotton clothes and fabrics from before the apocalypse was indeed what they lacked. Since these items were also very valuable now, they met the requirements for profit sharing.

Jing Shu nodded, looked over the two batches of goods, and selected some cotton clothes to set aside. She planned to use these for New Year’s gifts, as the New Year was approaching, and it was customary to give presents to relatives and friends.

Even though the apocalypse had arrived, the Huaxia people’s millennia-old custom of giving gifts during festivals remained unchanged.

Her family also received many gifts each year, some practical, some not. Grandma Jing would always put them away, estimate their value, and then reciprocate with gifts to these relatives and friends on a future occasion.

These cotton clothes and fabrics were currently in extremely short supply, so giving even one set to each family member was considered a grand gift. Jing Shu naturally had better items, but those were either cultivated in her space or were byproducts somewhat diluted with Spiritual Spring water. She was mostly reluctant to use them for gifts.

Liu continued, "There’s also a batch of high-end products from the Imperial Capital, a new food cultivated using the Artificial Sun, called Black Potato. This item is a new product and very rare. This batch’s value is ten percent higher than the dividend’s worth, making it even more precious now that it’s here in Wu City."

Sweet potatoes are red, purple potatoes are purple... so, black potatoes are black-colored potatoes?

Jing Shu’s guess was indeed correct.

Liu added, "I heard they have a delicate fragrance and are much larger than sweet potatoes, though their texture is a bit rougher. They were cultivated from a wild species. After careful research, it might be possible to propagate them on a large scale in the future."

Jing Shu couldn’t quite recall if black potatoes existed in her past life. Looking at these black potatoes, each as big as a watermelon, and with such a small batch in total, their value seemed indeed quite high.

"The items Zhou Yun secured aren’t bad. Surprisingly, they’re edible. That’s quite a shock," Jing Shu remarked, weighing a black potato in her hand. "Divide these black potatoes into three portions. I’ll take one. Distribute another according to the year-end bonus rankings. Sell the last portion to all our major clients at the Imperial Capital price."

Jing Shu planned to see if these black potatoes could be propagated and cultivated. However, she’d heard the process was very troublesome and the yield wasn’t great. Still, she wanted to try. If the investment proved too large, she would give up on them, as they didn’t look particularly tasty anyway—more of a novelty.

They had many major clients. Even dividing them systematically, each wouldn’t receive much. The Wucheng Town Government, West Mountain, the gas company, and the power company all had business dealings with them. After all, opening a factory required coordination with many departments.

Next, Jing Shu saw other specialty goods from various places. Some were new post-apocalypse products, while others were rare surplus treasures from before the apocalypse.

So many goods, and it all fit in less than one truckload! This meant that, excluding transportation and other costs, the value of this single truckload was over thirty percent of the Insect Cake Factory’s previous monthly profit! How many truckloads of Insect Cakes would that be equivalent to?

Still, these supplies were truly precious and definitely scarce these days.

"Is that all?" Jing Shu asked, scrutinizing the batch of goods. She was somewhat disappointed. She couldn’t say there was anything particularly outstanding, but under the circumstances, these truly were the best top-tier supplies available. She couldn’t help but sigh. Productivity... once it collapses, this is the result.

"Luo Junren from Sichuan sent a batch..." Liu began, his expression a bit strange. He seemed unsure how to explain, finally leading Jing Shu to another, separate truck. Pointing inside, he said, "Here. He transported a batch of Dark Creatures. He said they might be helpful to our Wu City."